little and placed it gently against the wall. His comrade
then thrust his head and shoulders out at the window, and while in that
awkward position spread his jacket over the sill. This was intended to
protect the cord which was fastened to the top of the umbrella, and by
which it was to be drawn up after his descent.

When this was done, Bill clambered up by the cord which hung from the
uncut stanchion, and pushed the umbrella past Ben's body until he got
hold of the end of it, and drew it out altogether. Bill then descended
into the cell, having the small cord in his hand, and watched the
motions of his comrade with intense anxiety.

The window was so small that Ben could barely get his head and shoulders
through it. There was no possibility of his getting on his feet or his
knees to make a leap. The only course that remained for him, therefore,
was to expand the umbrella, hold on tight, and then wriggle out until he
should lose his balance and fall head foremost! It was an awful
position. Bold though the seaman was, and desperate the circumstances,
his strong frame quivered when he gazed down and felt himself gradually
toppling. The height he knew to be little short of sixty feet, but in
the dark night it appeared an abyss of horrible profundity. A cold
sweat broke out upon him, and for one moment he felt an almost
irresistible tendency to let go the umbrella and clutch the window-sill,
but he was too late. Like lightning he shot down for a couple of yards;
then the parachute expanded and checked him with such violence, as he
swung round, that he nearly lost his hold and was thrown into a
horizontal position--first on one side, then on the other. Finally, he
reached the ground with a shock that almost took away his breath. He
sat still for a moment or two, then rose slowly and shook himself, to
ascertain whether he were still alive and sound! Immediately after he
examined the parachute, found it all right, and gave his comrade the
signal--a couple of tugs at the cord--to haul up.

Bill was scarcely less agitated than his friend. He had seen Ben's legs
disappear with a suddenness that told eloquently of his having taken
flight, and stood in the cell above listening intently, while large
drops of perspiration coursed down his face. On feeling the tug at the
string, a mountain appeared to be lifted off his chest. Carefully he
pulled up the umbrella. When it showed its point above the window-sill
he cla